[EricTheRed]

I'm in the market for a UPS for my Mac Pro. My box is a 3.0 GHz 6 GB RAM, 4 internal HDDs, 2 Superdrives, XT1900, 7300GT system driving two 22" LCD and one 24" LCD displays. I'm thinking i want something in the 1500AMP range but I want it to be able to shut my Mac down if the UPS is getting low and I absolutely must be able to turn off any audio warning beeps.

Any Suggestions? Does APS's Smart UPS 1500 (SUA1500) fit the bill? The no beeping thing is a hot button for me.

Thanks for any help!

[ghporter]

The APC 1500 should be more than adequate. I can't check right now (their site is down for maintenance) but APC's products typically allow users to disable the power alarms. I have a BackUPS CS 500 right next to me that I have set up to be silent, so I can't see a higher-end product not offering this option.

[mduell]

Go to apc.com and use their UPS sizer to determine the appropriate model for your power consumption/run time needs.

1500VA should be fine power-wise, but if you're concerned about the noise it sounds like you want a pretty long run time, which the SUA1500 may not have at that power level.

[EricTheRed]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Go to apc.com and use their UPS sizer to determine the appropriate model for your power consumption/run time needs.

1500VA should be fine power-wise, but if you're concerned about the noise it sounds like you want a pretty long run time, which the SUA1500 may not have at that power level.

There sizer doesn't cover dual processors or three displays.

[ghporter]

Go to the main APC page, select "Small and Medium Business" and then look in the left side bar for "Servers." The configurator you get through this link DOES include Mac Pros with multiple processors. It does not hurt to specify a bigger computer than you have, but this particular tool covers both the quad core and 8 core models of Mac Pro.

By the way, both the Smart-UPS 1500 SC (rack or tower mount) and the Smart-UPS 1500 should be more than adequate for this job. Displays don't pull that much power and you can add them in the configurator (just find out what their power draw is first).

[mduell]

Originally Posted by EricTheRed 

There sizer doesn't cover dual processors or three displays.

The basic workstation/desktop sizer does cover multiple processors and 2 displays; throw in 15% or so on margin to make up for the third display.

[EricTheRed]

I ended up going with the Smart-UPS 1500. My understanding is that when I plug in the UPS with a USB cable, the Energy Saver control panel or system preference will offer new features to control the UPS. Although impossible to find without somebody posting a link, PowerChute v1.3.4 also allows OSX to fiddle with UPS features.

The trouble with all of this is APC's web site is bewildering and difficult to find answers on—and then, conflicting answers are often found. Figuring out what UPS to get shouldn't be hard. The most useful information I found was from a disccussion forum:

APC Discussion Forums : Back-UPS ES 700 and OS X software ...

APC should have a line chart with what products support what platforms that include links to the products and supporting applications. Why has the obvious escaped marketing?